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Light Rain Science in its natural habitat
Science can be learned from textbooks, but a more meaningful education comes through experiments and observations. That’s why the Levittown School District created an Outdoor Learning Center, which welcomed the first students last week.
Located in the courtyard of the Levittown Memorial Education Center, a former high school, the facility includes a pond and a greenhouse. The pond was built over the summer and includes a waterfall, along with fish, frogs, a turtle and various plants. All of the species are native to New York.
On Sept. 17, seventh- and eighth-grade students from the science research classes at Jonas Salk Middle School were the first from the district to visit. “I was excited to come here,” said seventh-grader Nick Logozzo. “I think this is really cool. We should do this more often. It’s good for science.”
Creation of the outdoor science center was included in this year’s budget. School officials considered several sites before selecting the courtyard at Memorial, located in the center of the district. One advantage was that there was already a greenhouse there, which is being refurbished and is expected to be ready within a few months. Additionally, there was classroom space available to allow for follow-up lessons after students visit the outdoor facilities.
Salk students last week spread out around the pond and measured it’s depth, then went inside to study pond water through microscopes. “Actually seeing it makes it easier to understand,” said Nick, who noted that science is one of his favorite subjects because he likes learning about the world.
“It’s good to do everything hands-on and see it with your actual eyes, not just a picture,” added seventh-grader Julie Magliano.
Science teacher Paul Zaratin used a phrase popular among his students to describe the new facility: “This is pretty cool.”
“The outside classroom, it holds the greatest educational value in my opinion,” Zaratin said. “It think it’s really unique and we’re really fortunate to have this opportunity. I highly doubt that other districts have a pond.”
In the past, students from Levittown would travel to a BOCES facility to conduct many of the outdoor science experiments that can now take place within the district. The facility is just a short bus ride away from their schools. Debbie Rifkin, the assistant superintendent for instruction, said that it will be used by students from kindergarten through 12th grade. “It’s a science teacher’s dream,” she said.
Rifkin explained that this facility will be valuable educational tool for all in the district. “Any time you have hands-on experiments, it makes it real for the students,” she said, adding that this will give them the opportunity to apply what they learn in their classrooms.
Kevin McDermott, Levittown’s director of science, agreed. “I think it’s important to get the students out of the classroom and back into nature,” he said. “We can’t all just be book driven. Let them just experiment and try it.”
After the first classes came through, McDermott noted the great enthusiasm among the students, and said they were very appreciative that the district is providing them with this type of learning environment. He said there are so many possibilities to use the facility moving forward.
In addition to the pond and greenhouse, an outdoor classroom will also be created with tables and a teacher’s station with a sink and technology hook-ups. The Outdoor Learning Center will grow and evolve throughout the school year, but the pond is already full of life and activity.
“I think it came out better than expected,” Rifkin said. “You see it on paper, and then it comes to reality.”
